Spying
by Illusion of the Mirror
Summary: Sakura is bored. Now what? Now she decides to have a little fun by spying on her friends. SakuLee I don't own Naruto or any of the other characters. Although I wouldn't be averse to owning a few of them...


Spying

By: Illusion of the Mirror

Sakura Haruno was bored. Actually, she was **really** bored. True, she could do most anything she wanted; it wasn't like it was raining or anything. But the thing was, she just didn't feel like doing anything. _Argh_, _it's the double edged kunai of being lazy and bored at the same time. _So here she was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling and wishing that something would happen, **anything**.

"Sakura," her mother shouted from the bottom of the stairs. "I need you to hang the laundry up to dry!" Oh come on, she didn't mean that type of anything! "As the dictator commands," she muttered to herself. She shook her head at her own strangeness. "Geez, Sakura, you're so bored you're talking to yourself."

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Sakura's mother handed her a basket full of wet clothes. "Make sure that you hang them so they don't wrinkle." Sakura had to fight making a wise remark; the last thing she needed was to be bored **and** grounded. She pushed past her slave driver of a mother and went out into the back yard.

"Ugh, what a pain. I wish Dad would get the dryer fixed soon." Sakura flipped open a pink sheet and hung it limply over the drying line that was stretched from two trees. A cool breeze lifted the stray strands of pink hair that dangled in front of her eyes. She looked up at the large, puffy, white clouds in the deep blue sky. It was a nice day, but even so, she was still bored.

Sakura heaved a sigh and began to hang up the rest of the garments on the line. The late summer air was warm, but not hot, and made the conditions perfect for training. But Sakura didn't want to train. The water on the lake was sure to be warm enough for a nice swim. But Sakura didn't want to swim. The grass was soft beneath her feet and was ideal for a nice cat-nap. But Sakura didn't want to sleep either. What did she want to do?

Once she had finished the basket, she was faced with a choice. She could go inside and risk getting drafted for some other random chore, or she could go do something. She opted for the second and left the empty basket on the back step for her mother to find later.

While walking down the sidewalk, Sakura noticed that the tree to her right had a branch low enough for her to reach. _Hmm…this would be something to do at least…_She gripped the branch in her hands and flipped up on top of it. Now what? She sat back and put her hands behind her head. Well, she could just…wait. Someone was coming.

Although it was childish, Sakura felt a pang of excitement and decided to have a little fun. She climbed a bit higher in the tree and watched as the person approached. It was just an old lady walking her two little dogs, but as she passed, Sakura could hear her singing to her pets…badly. She had to stifle laughter as the dogs tried to chase a squirrel and the woman screamed at them as they wrapped their leashes around her legs.

It didn't take the woman long to get untangled and walk off with her hounds, but it got Sakura thinking. She used to love spying when she was little. She used to go on "adventures" where she was a spy and she had to gather information about everyone around her. She giggled to herself when she remembered how many things she had heard that she probably shouldn't have.

"That's it!" she said to no one in particular. "I'll just defeat this boredom by going out and seeing what my friends are all up to!" With that, she swung down from the tree and started off towards her first target; Ino.

It didn't take long for Sakura to get to Ino's house because it wasn't that far away. She snuck up to the window into Ino's bedroom and peeked in with a devious smile to herself. Ino sat at her vanity brushing her hair with long, careful stroke as she counted each one. "Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred. There, now that's perfect." Ino winked and blew a kiss at her reflection. "It really isn't fair, is it, that one person should have so much beauty?" She then stood and spun in a circle in front of her full length mirror on her wall.

Sakura rolled her eyes. _Her head is so big it's a wonder she doesn't fall over!_ But the best part was yet to come. Ino curtsied to the mirror and held out her hand. "Why, Shikamaru, you really think that I am the most beautiful girl in the village? Thank you!" She giggled and flipped her hair. "Well, of course I will go on a date with you." She then stopped and looked at her feet. "That is, if you ever ask me…" She then proceeded in pulling her hair back into its usual style.

Sakura stood on her tiptoes to see if she could get a glimpse of the books on Ino's vanity. Were those Go strategy books? But unfortunately for Sakura, the rock she was standing on decided that it would be the perfect time to roll and she stumbled to the ground. She heard Ino gasp from inside. _Oh crud!_ She quickly preformed a transformation jutsu and turned herself into a butterfly in order to make a quick getaway.

Once she was safely out of sight, she turned back into her normal self. "Whew, that was close. Imagine if she had actually seen me." All Sakura could picture was blood splattered over the side of Ino's house. "Well, that was certainly enlightening, but who to find now?" She thought for a moment and then headed over to the academy.

Classes were over for the day, so Sakura decided to peep in and see what Iruka sensei was up to. This time, to avoid being discovered by her own lack of stealth, she transformed into a butterfly again and flew in through the open window. She was surprised to see that not only was Iruka sensei there, but so were Kakashi sensei, Gai sensei, Kurenai, and Asuma all sitting around the table. Kakashi looked rather smug as always, but she noticed him flinch when Kurenai looked to him and smiled impishly. She listened closely to see what was going on.

"Fine, if that's the way it's going to be, Kakashi, truth or dare?" _Truth or dare? They're playing truth or dare!?_ Luckily, it's not noticeable when a butterfly laughs, because Sakura could hardly contain herself. My, but she was sneaky.

"Dare," Kakashi answered without delay. Kurenai thought a moment and then laughed to herself. Clearly she had thought of something particularly devious. "I dare you to…slow dance with Gai!"

Everyone else around the table sat aghast as Kurenai laughed evilly. Asuma soon joined in. "I suppose that's what you deserve after what you did to her," he chuckled. Iruka only shook his head. Sakura supposed this was because he was relieved that he was not part of this dare. Gai sensei, however, was elated and leapt to his feet with fire in his eyes. "No way! No how! Not going to happen!"

Kurenai shrugged. "You know what has to happen if you don't do it." This was countered by a grumble from Gai. Kakashi only sighed and stood. He walked slowly over to Gai and then pulled his hand out of his packet and held it out. "Well, may I have this dance?" Sakura could swear that both Kurenai and Asuma were going to die of laughter and that Gai sensei was going to explode in embarrassment.

However, Gai sensei only swallowed hard and then smiled. "Yes, of course." He took Kakashi's hand and Sakura couldn't contain herself anymore. She buzzed back out through the window and changed back before she ran off into the trees, guffawing all the way. This was certainly turning out to be an interesting day!

She ran until her sides hurt and then collapsed on the ground in a fit of giggles. That was too good! She then rolled over onto her back as a tear rolled down from her watery eyes. She gazed up at the clouds and listened to the wind blowing through the trees. Then another sound met her ears. It was the sound of blows landing.

Being that Sakura was the curious type, she decided to see where the noise was coming from. She silently snuck through the trees until she caught sight of a clearing up ahead. The noises were getting louder and now she could hear a voice. She leapt up into a tree and looked down into the clearing to see none other than Rock Lee. He was training on what seemed to be a pillar with many arms. Sakura hadn't had muck taijutsu training so she had no idea what it was called.

Lee grunted as he landed one last blow and then leaned over with his hands on his knees. Sweat dripped off the end of his nose and his breathing was quick, but he stood up straight. "I have finished with this part of my training, but I must keep going. I will jump rope five hundred times!" He then pulled a jump rope, seemingly out of nowhere, and began with his impossible task.

Sakura sighed. She would never understand why Lee always set such high goals for himself. But even so, she admired him for it. He never quit, even when all odds were against him. Sure, it seemed stupid, but Sakura thought it was still commendable. There were times when she wished that she had that same drive to succeed no matter what the cost. But she often found herself believing that things were futile and almost wanting to give up.

But that didn't mean that she did, she just wanted to.

Another cool breeze blew the trees and Sakura was brought back to herself. She looked down at her friend below her. He was so many things that she wasn't. He might not be able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, but despite this, she would not be a challenge for him to defeat in combat. Of course, she couldn't see him actually trying to hurt her…so maybe she'd have a chance. She smiled to herself with this thought.

_He's so dedicated. I mean, I've never seen him even once turn away from a challenge. And even when situations look their bleakest, he still maintains that positive attitude. _She used to think that Lee was just crazy, but now…she thought that he was something else, even though she had no idea what that something was. Ever since he had come to her rescue during the Chunin exams, she had always admired him. And then, seeing him trying to train even though he was in the hospital, she had started to feel a change in herself.

But she still had no idea what that was exactly.

She then looked back down at him. He was counting out loud and was only in the hundreds, but looked entirely exhausted. Sakura jumped down from her spot in the tree and walked p behind him. "Um…hey, Lee."

Lee looked over his shoulder while he jumped and his eyes immediately brightened. However, he lost track of what he was doing and ended up tripping himself right into her. They toppled to the ground and when Lee realized he had landed on top of Sakura, he blushed wildly. "Sakura-san! I am so sorry!" He immediately stood and helped her to her feet. "It was an accident. I did not mean to cause-"

"It's okay, Lee-san. Accidents happen." She dusted off her clothes and then smiled widely. "I'm sorry I interrupted your training."

"It is okay, Sakura-san. I have been training all day so I suppose it is time for a break anyway."

Sakura giggled as she pointed to a leaf that had made its home in Lee's hair. He looked up but was totally clueless as to what was going on. Sakura reached out hesitantly and pulled it from his hair and then showed it to him. "Oh…thank you…" he said with another slightly less noticeable blush.

Sakura smiled. "You're welcome." But then her smile fell and she looked at her feet.

"Sakura-san, what is wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, no it's not that…" she looked up at him. "How do you do it, Lee-san?"

Lee looked confused. "Um…do what?"

"Stay so positive all the time. I mean, you never let anything get in your way and you never back down no matter how tough the obstacles are."

Lee bit his lip in thought and then met her eyes. "I have many dreams and people who are very precious to me, Sakura-san. If I am protecting them, then giving up is never an option. I must fight until there's nothing left." He reached up and scratched the back of his neck. "If something is so precious to me that I can't imagine life without it…" he paused and then closed his eyes and smiled. "Then I will protect it with my life!"

Sakura smiled as well. He was truly inspirational. But not only that, he was a good friend. "Lee-san," she murmured softly.

"Yes, Sakura-san? What is it?"

"…thank you. You've always been such a great friend and…" She looked up to see that Lee was standing there wide-eyed, hanging on her every word. "…for always being there, even when I didn't deserve it."

Lee looked like he was about to cry, but he managed to keep it in. "Sakura-san, I do not know what to say. You are welcome, but it is I who is not worthy."

Now it was Sakura's turn to get misty eyed. She closed the gap between them without thinking and closed him in an embrace. Lee stiffened at first, not knowing what to do, but then he put his arms around her as well. "That's not true, Lee-kun." She pulled away and stood on her tip-toes to plant a kiss on his cheek. When she backed away, he still looked completely confused, but also thrilled.

She then smiled cheerfully. "C'mon," she said grabbing his hand. "Wait until you see what our senseis are doing!"


End file.
